I'll do it for them
by Lillium-Ryn
Summary: [Major Character Death!] When the war hits Beach City with full force, and Pearl finds Steven calling for Connie, she goes searching for her; only to find things in a more dire state than she was expecting. (I suck at summaries, okay?) Inspired by the episode Sworn to the sword.


Running was something that Pearl had been used to. Fighting had been something that she had instilled into her very core. And yet somehow, this was harder than before. Much harder than fighting for Rose; because now there were so many more beings she had given emotion to.

She had made sure that Greg and the townspeople had moved far, far onwards. Steven had refused to leave; instead fighting alongside them. And it was then that she had realised how much the little child who held Rose's gem, had really grown up, although the Crystal Gems still protected him.

She had thought she'd seen everything in this battle, but as she pushed her hair from her face, a more than familiar voice filled her head and sent a shiver of dread running down her spine.

"Steven?!" Pearl yelled, whirling around on the spot to find Garnet a few feet away from her with a struggling Steven in her arms; her visor had long since been cracked, so her blue eye could be seen giving Steven an empathetic look, before returning to the chaos around them.

"Garnet, put me down! I have to get back to her! I can protect her!" Steven squirmed and kicked, even as Garnet held him tightly, yelling with tears down his face. "Connie! Connie!"

"It's too dangerous right now, we'll come back for her as soon as we can, Steven, I promise!" Garnet had to raise her voice to be heard, but that didn't stop Steven's attempts at escaping her grip.

Connie… What had happened to Connie?

Pearl followed Steven's frantic gaze, fighting her way through several lower gems that were eyeing Steven's yelling form, toward an area where gems littered the ground, and beside a rock, there laid Connie, making Pearl pause in her tracks.

Pearl dropped to her knees beside the female human as she stopped beside her, worry in her features as she reached out to touch her skin. She could see Connie's chest rising and falling in shallow breaths, her hand covering her stomach, where blood was pooling on the ground right beside her.

Connie's head raised, and her free hand gripped her sword as she opened her eyes, trying to focus without squinting. Her whole body relaxed as she realised it was Pearl beside her, and she gave a weak smile, the sword falling back to the ground again.

"Did I p-protect him?" She coughed harshly, blood spurting from her mouth in droplets, barely registering as they landed on Pearls cheek. "I-Is he okay?"

The gem paused, her eyes focused on Connie as she raised her trembling hand to her own face. The red liquid was warm, and looked foreign upon her fingertips as she pulled her hand away to inspect it.

"Steven is safe, Connie, Garnet has him; but I need to get you somewhere to heal!" Pearl's voice shook as she gave a watery smile, trying to convince herself humans were capable of some kind of regeneration. She could already see the look of anguish on Stevens face; already feel the guilt swarm around her, just like it was before, when Rose-

"Pearl, I'm good… I-I'm okay… It's okay…" Connie's voice snapped the gem from her thoughts, and her hawk-like eyes were upon her immediately, noting somewhere in her mind just how far away Connie's voice sounded.

"No, you're not! You're not okay!" Thin fingers clasped around Connie's wrist, finding her pulse, and clinging to it. Where was Amethyst when she needed her? She needed more hands; she needed to become Opal. She couldn't keep Connie's heart in check, and bandage her at the same time! "I need you to stay focused, Connie! Think of Steven!"

"Steven…" Connie's bloodied lips formed a slight smile, and her eyes grew misty, finally drifting away from Pearls face and settling upon the sky above them.

She had a moment to collect her thoughts, before a pain shot through her, causing her to give a shout of agony. Her hand rose up to her mouth to stifle her noises of discomfort, slower than she usually would have done; all her limbs were feeling heavy. Her eyes lowered to her stomach, where Pearl had raised her slightly to start working bandages around her.

"If I can stop your bleeding, I can help you! I know human blood regenerates, I read about it!" Still Pearls voice trembled, but her hands remained steady, working the fabric around her waist as tight as she dared, and securing it. She was working so diligently, she never noticed things were getting darker around them.

Connie dragged her eyes away from Pearls face, toward the shadow that towered over them, her eyes immediately widening and focusing upon the Topaz gem behind the one treating her wounds. She quickly realised the yellow Topaz was concerned with Pearl, not the human at her feet, and with a glance back at the Crystal gem, she reached up and grabbed Pearls wrist in a heartbeat.

The world stopped momentarily as Connie threw Pearl to one side and managed to get to her knees in one movement, adrenaline rushing through her veins. Pearl could heal; Pearl could protect Steven more than she ever could; she needed to be protected, too! One hand clasped around Pearls spear, while she pushed off the ground with the other, ramming the spear through the other gem and slicing upward. She held her ground, hanging onto the spear as the Topaz fell to the floor encased in its gem. Connie lifted the shimmering spear, driving it through the gen casing, breathing heavily as she turned her head to find Pearl looking at her in utter horror.

"Connie! Connie, your stomach!" She was on her feet within seconds, reaching the human's side as she fell forward into her arms. Blood was dripping on to the ground around them, soaking fast through the bandages Pearl had worked so hard to bind around her.

The spear dropped from Connie's hand, and Pearl gently turned her around, finding more blood spilling from her mouth. Pearl slowly laid her upon the ground, but the blood was still coming too fast, too strong for her to keep back, and as she slowly realised this, her hands slowed.

She sat there upon her knees, her tunic stained with Connie's life force, her slender fingers instead running through matted black hair, and a calm washing over her.

"P-Pearl… I- I had to-" Connie started, tears forming in her eyes as she blinked, and was surprised when Pearls fingers came to rest underneath her eye, wiping away the droplet that threatened to fall. "Steven- You need to tell Steven that-"

"I will tell him you loved him; that you fought until the end." Pearl's voice was nothing like Connie had ever heard; it was gentle, soothing; calmer than it should have been.

Connie just smiled though, reaching up and taking Pearl's hand in her own, the gem noticing that it was more her fingers stopping Connie's hand from falling.

"W-Win, Pearl… Please, d-do it for him." Her voice was a whisper now, breath coming in shallow pants that were getting slower with every exhale. Her eyes were unfocused, and Pearl's outline was so blurry, she could barely tell her from the hue of afternoon sky.

Pearl lowered her eyes; her body trembling as Connie's hand fell from her own, and hit the ground with a thud that sounded louder than it really was. She stayed in that position for a few minutes, her mind a chaotic mess of thoughts, before finally looking back at the humans face and carefully closing her eyes with her fingertips.

"I'll do it for him, Connie." The next time she raised her head, it was with narrowed, steeled eyes, and a firm grip on her bloodied spear, as she got to her feet and looked out at the battlefield.

"And I'll do it for you." She drove her spear down into the ground beside Connie as a means of finding her, giving her one last glance, before retrieving the handle of Connie's sword and taking the first step away from her charges friend.

Guilt ate away at her. She should take Connie with her; she could easily outrun most of the gems, even with someone in her arms. But as she stared at the war happening around her, she knew it would be easier to thin the crowd in this area first, and then have Garnet or Amethyst return with her.

Each step slowly became a little easier, and eventually, she was driving her fallen companion's sword through the Homeworld gems and cutting a path to Garnet's location.

She had a message to deliver.


End file.
